dreamers & charmers
by Mysty Midnight
Summary: He wanted to hold her even tighter, wipe her tears away and brush his lips against hers to show her how much he truly cared about her / AU Loke x Aries / complete
1. first layer

**author's note:** uh, hi. I crawled out from under my rock to write this. This is AU, so Aries isn't as innocent and scared because she wasn't abused by Karen Lilica. The second part shall be uploaded soon.  
><strong>disclaimer:<strong> I don't own Fairy Tail.

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><p><strong>1 <strong>/** 3**  
><em>first layer<em>

_._

_._

There are two things you should know about a young man named Loke:  
>a) Call him by his first name Leo and he would never speak to you again, and—<br>b) He could charm the panties off every girl.

Of course, as much as he hated to admit it, there were a few girls who were exceptions. Erza, for one. The school president was one of his oldest friends. She was not one to collapse to a heap on the floor whenever he flashed her a charming smile. She was too mature, too responsible. So, Loke decided not to try to sway her anymore – she'd already given him numerous black eyes and bruises every time he flirted with her and she wasn't worth any more marring his beautiful face.

Lucy was another exception. Oh, and Levy. And Mirajane. And Lisanna, and—

Holy shit, there were a lot of exceptions.

Okay, fine, scrap all of that. There was one thing you should know about Loke:

_He never fell in love_.

Not any more, anyway. Karen Lilica was his first love, but she'd only been stringing him along. Lucy understood him, but her heart belonged to another.

The point was that, he never let himself fall in love in fear of getting his heart broken.

And then he saw Aries again.

**:: :: ::**

Rewinding back somewhat to the middle of November, when most of the crispy brown leaves no longer graced the trees and it was cold enough for him to wear his new fur coat, Loke had been content. Life was been great; he was the school charmer, one of the most popular boys in the school, and had great friends. What else did he need?

(Apparently, good grades.)

"Loke!" Erza yelled for him. He saw a blur of red rushing towards him. Seeing a girl (or _girls_) running up to him was common, but never was it a certain Erza Scarlet.

"Hello, my lovely Erza!" he cheerfully chirped. "What can I do for you this fine morn–"

"Mr. Brain is looking for you," Erza interjected. Her eyes then narrowed. "What did you do?"

"What? I didn't do anything!" Loke denied. Gray raised an eyebrow at him in amusement. "I swear I didn't! You think I would try after we nearly got permanently suspended for freezing the pool?"

Gray chuckled. Yeah, that had been a good day. The ice-rink had been brilliant; it was much more productive than a swimming pool no one used in this horribly cold weather. Everyone had loved them for it. Everyone apart from the teachers.

(Oh, and Aquarius, but she was another, more painful, story.)

Erza did not find it funny at all. A dark look spread across her face, one that made Gray's and Loke's sweat drop in the icy weather. "I'm going, I'm going!" Loke said, holding up his hands in surrender. "See ya!" He gave them a two-fingered salute then strolled of to find his algebra teacher.

One thing to know about Mr Brain: he was creepy. From his name, you would assume his was your usual middle-aged, geeky and portly algebra teacher, right? _Wrong._ With stark white hair and icy glare that could freeze even hell over, it was obvious that he wasn't a guy who would tolerate your misbehavior in class. That was why Loke never went to his class.

That was also why he was _failing_ the class.

"I can't get an F!" Loke told the teacher in dismay. "Dumb guys aren't attractive, no matter how handsome they are!"

"Then I suggest going to class next time, _maggot_," the teacher practically growled at him. "But there is no next time for you, because you're out of my class."

Loke's eyes widened. The prospect of leaving Mr Brain's class was enticing, but if word got out that he'd gotten _kicked out_ of a class, his reputation as the _intelligent_ and gorgeous guy would be shot. Sure, if he kept the behavior up, he could instead be called a bad boy, but—

"You can't kick me out!" Loke pleaded. "Please! Let me re-take the test!"

"You're not sticking around unless you get an A. _No one_ in my class fails. They're the best."

Jeez, and people said Natsu and Gray were competitive. Mr Brain was a teacher but he was so keen of his class being better than the rest. "February. That's when we have the next test. If you're able to jump from an F to an A in less than three months, then you can stay." His gaunt face was strict, meaning that there would be no negotiation.

That was so unfair! Loke couldn't get an A in algebra, when he'd missed so many lessons! That was beyond unreasonable. No one could get ace a class they hadn't ever attended before; no one except—

"_You got 95%?" he muttered in awe, gaping at the test sheet in front of her. She was biting her lip, staring at it intently as if she was waiting for the writing in red pen to suddenly disappear._

_Silently, she nodded._

"_How?" Her cheeks tinged with pink. "Not that you're not smart!" he quickly added. "But you've never— I mean, you're new and you nearly got everything right! I've been in this class since the beginning of the year and I've never gotten anything more than 70%."_

"_S-sorry, I don't know," she whispered, uncertainty filling her face. She looked so scared, like a good mark would label her with a target on her back and the word '_nerd_' above her head in a flashing neon sign. _

"_It's a good thing," he reassured her. "It's great! You got the brains, I got the brawn, and together we have enough beauty to fill this school. We make a good team." _

_Finally, she smiled, a little giggle escaping her lips. _

He blinked.

Wait—

_What?_

**:: :: ::**

He did not _sulk_ the rest of the day. Sulking was unattractive. Anyway, his thoughts weren't even on Algebra – he was busy thinking about his little flashback.

He tiredly looked up at the cracks on the ceiling, hands behind his head and leaning back on his chair, then briefly closed his eyes. Instead of darkness, the back of his eyelids consisted of the image of the sweet girl he used to know. Cute smile, innocent eyes, and that rare giggle she gave. His childhood friend.

When was the last time he'd heard from her? After he'd moved away at eleven, they had kept in touch for a while before the distance had gotten to them and they'd eventually stopped communicating over the phone or through email. It'd been a shame, because she'd been his _best_ friend.

"Loke!" someone hissed into his ear, making him jump up in his seat. It turned out that he hadn't been _briefly_ closing his eyes at all, and had nodded off for a few minutes.

"Wha— what?" Hastily, he looked around, hoping not to see hundreds of eyes boring into him for falling asleep. Instead, he was faced with the view of a heckling Natsu laughing at his surprised look. Gray was also grinning; Cana was rolling her eyes at their typical behavior.

"Morning, sunshine," Cana disinterestedly muttered, pushing a can of soda to him from across the table. "You need caffeine."

Graciously, he took the can, glancing around again. They were congregating in an empty classroom, like they always did in lunch. As much as he loved his fangirls, it was kind of hard to eat lunch them crowded around him.

The only girls in the room were Cana, who was casually swinging her legs back and forth from where she sat on a teacher's desk, and Levy who was sat in the corner reading a book with Jet and Droy flanking her sides. Erza was busy with school council stuff; the redheaded girl would take as much work as possible to prove to her former election competitor (and best friend) Jellal that she deserved the title of school president. Mirajane was no doubt helping her out, with Lisanna possibly helping _her_.

All in all, the only person missing was Lucy. Oh, and Juvia—

No, Juvia was currently crouching behind the desk, gazing up with twinkling eyes at Gray like he was God's gift. So, Lucy was the only person missing.

It was after a few minutes that the blond finally arrived, although she wasn't alone. At her tail was a cute girl their age, timidly hugging her books to her fuzzy sweater-clad chest. "Hey guys," Lucy called out, stood at the doorway and bringing everyone's attention to her. "This is Aries. Principal Makaraov's asked me to show her around school."

Immediately, Levy was at her side, smiling welcomingly at Aries and asking if her zodiac sign was an Aries too and if she liked reading and other questions. Cana gave the new girl a polite nod of her head, Juvia muttered something under her breath about love rivals, and Natsu and Gray could not care one bit about new students and were arguing as per usual.

And Loke? He was intently staring at the girl, inspecting her from head to toe. Soft cotton-candy colored hair, ample chest, jean skirt and knee socks. The whole aura around her was so adorable and so… _familiar_.

Stretching, he got up from his seat, and approached them. Her big doe eyes instantly went to him, seeing Loke for the first time. Her eyes widened, taking his appearance in, mouth slightly agape. He usually had this affect on girls, so it should have surprised to him, but strangely it did.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lucy shoot him a '_don't you dare or I'll punch you so hard you'll be the first idiot to walk on the moon'_ but, naturally, he ignored it and charmingly smiled at the pink-haired girl. "Pleasure to meet you." He held out a hand for her to shake. "I'm Loke."

Her long eyelashes fanned out against her cheeks when she blinked in confusion. She brushed it off, her cheeks turning rosy, and shook his hand with hers. "Aries," she mumbled.

"Aries?" he echoed, hand still grasping hers. "I think I used to have a friend named Ari—" He stopped, the memory of pink hair and soft smiles hitting him like a train. With wide eyes, he gawked at her. "Aries."

A small smile graced her lips, glad to have been remembered. "Leo."

**:: :: ::**

_They first met in the park. He was the rich kid, the one no one was really friends with unless they wanted something. Only seven-years-old and exploited? Yeah, his childhood was absolutely _brilliant.

_She was the lower-than-middle-class timid new girl who had 'FRAGILE' etched across her wool jumper. Sat alone at the park, swinging her legs to and fro and quietly humming something under her breath, she looked the most innocent of the lot – and that was why there was a bullseye on her back for all the bullies to see._

_In one swift minute, she was pushed to the ground, her knees smacking against the floor, a bruise slowly developing, tears stinging her eyes. Hastily, she ran to the other side of the park so no one would see her cry. Loke, who'd then gone by 'Leo', saw it all from the top of the jungle-gym._

_Ice-cream cone in hand, he slowly walked towards her. No one deserved to be bullied like that. Thankfully, she wasn't sobbing, but her eyes were scrunched up like she was trying to hold back a flood._

"_Here," he softly said, holding out the ice-cream. Hesitantly, she looked up, like an animal cautious if you were either friend or foe. Her eyes went back and forth from the ice-cream to him, trying to see what kind of prank this was. Her guards were up and alert, attempting to distinguish if this was a kind gesture or a cruel prank._

_Finally, she took the melting desert, and mumbled a small, "Thank you." He smiled, and then walked away._

_The next day, she was the one to approach him, shyly smiling and grasping a small cupcake. "Thank you," she timidly said again, handing him the cupcake._

_It was the first time someone had ever repaid him. So, when he found out she would be going to his school, he spent his days trying to repay her for being his first genuine friend._

He felt a sense of déjà vu as he showed Aries around the school. Except, last time when he had shown her around their little elementary school, she had been more open, analyzing everything with soft brown eyes and swaying to the beat of the song in her head. Now, she was more cautious, all shields up in hard defense.

Obviously, appearance wise she'd changed too. He didn't want to, but it was impossible _not_ to notice her defined chest in her pink sweater, and her long legs in jean skirt and knee socks. If she wasn't his childhood friend, he'd—

Oh, he _really_ should not finish that thought.

"I didn't think your parents would send you to a high school like this," Aries quietly commented.

"Please, I had to _beg_ them not to send me to a boarding school in Switzerland. I don't even know any Switz!"

She bit her lip, trying to hold in laughter. "Swiss people mostly speak German, Leo."

He grinned to himself, glad to have gotten a near laugh out of her. "I— I knew that." She smiled at him. "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

She tensed up, clutching her books closer. Her mouth wobbled, hesitant to make words, but before she could say anything, Loke was nearly attacked by a two girls.

(He loved the attention. He _bathed_ in their attraction towards him, but right now he kind of wished he could just talk to Aries, one-on-one, and catch up.)

_Attacked_ may not be the right word, but they certainly caught him off guard. Nonetheless, he beamed at the girls and greeted all of them like a true gentleman would. "_Lokeeee!_ I heard you need a tutor in algebra!" the brunette squealed. "I can tutor you!"

"So can I!" the redhead piped up.

"No, I will!"

"I will!"

"Ladies, ladies, please," Loke calmed them down before they could start a catfight. Watching two girls fight was entertaining, but Aries was awkwardly standing there by the sidelines. He had taken over Lucy's job of showing Aries around with a promise that _no_, he wouldn't get distracted. Cana had rolled her eyes, muttering, "I'll believe it when I see it," and Gray had scoffed. Loke did not get distracted _that_ easily—

Oh shit, the girls were already fighting. "Girls, please, there's no need to fight! I don't even _need_ a tutor!"

Immediately, they stopped. "You don't?" they said in unison, looking heartbroken like someone had told them their favorite lipstick was no longer in stock.

"Nope. Not at all. Well, I should be going now." With that, he quickly grabbed Aries's free hand and fled from the girls.

The thought of how soft her hands were crossed his mind before he brushed it off. They stopped inside an empty class to catch their breath. Aries collapsed into a seat, pink hair messy but still presentable, and Loke leaned his forehead against the wall.

A deep sigh escaped his lips, and he mentally cursed. If those girls knew already about his failing grades, that meant the whole school would know about the end of the week—no, the end of the _day_. Then, it could get back to his parents, who would have a fit and probably rip him apart with their bare hands, and the—

"Are you okay?" A soft hand touched his shoulder. He turned and saw Aries looking at him with deep concern.

There was a lie on the tip of his tongue, a nonchalant and funny response to the question, but instead what came spouting out was the truth. The truth of his failing grade, how he would be kicked out of the class, how his parents would brutally murder him if he did not ace the next quiz.

All the way through, she nodded, listening patiently, and he was reminded again why she had been (and always would be) his closest friend.

"I could always tutor you," she told him.

"If anyone can propel me up from an F to an A, it's you." He wryly chuckled. "Anyway, you just started school so I can't waste up your time—"

"It's not wasting my time," Aries interjected. "I'll be happy to help you. And if I don't look after you, who will?"

_His father was never at home. The older man was always at the office or at conferences. The times when he _was_ home, he spoke to Loke as if his son was a horse he would soon take to the races to bet on. It was all, "How are your grades?" and "Are you improving?" Never those heart-penetrating questions of if he's okay, or if he needs advice. Indeed, if he ever ended up getting those questions, he knew he'd have to lie._

_His mother, although much kinder than his father (but that was easy enough) she was always out at parties and functions to keep up their reputation. _

_All in all, the only person who cared about him in his infant years was his nanny—_

_And then Aries too._

_The pink-haired girl was always the one making sure he'd done his homework before it was due, checking to see if it was right, fixing his school tie with her small eight-year-old hands, and reminding him to tie his shoelaces. She acted as his big sister, despite her height, and was always that one step ahead to make sure he was all right. _

_When he'd foolishly gotten himself into a scuffle, she'd been the one to pull him back, screaming bloody murder so loudly he wasn't aware that anyone could shriek that loudly, nonetheless timorous Aries who never made a sound._

_The sound made the windows vibrate, the walls quake, and every freeze in terror as the scream reverberated off every surface, echoing her fear for her best friend._

"_It'll be okay," she softly reassured him when they were sat outside the principal's office. She placed a tender hand on his shoulder. He could not bear to look at her, guilt watering his eyes for dragging her into this mess. "Leo."_

"_I—I'm sorry," he choked out. "I got you involved and—"_

_She squeezed his shoulder. "I got myself involved. Don't be an idiot."_

"Stop acting like an idiot," she lightly laughed when he attempted to show her how he could expertly spin his pen between his thumb and forefinger, only to have it whiz to the other side of the library. The elderly librarian shot them a dirty look, so he and Aries had to muffle their laughter. "Le—Loke, we're here to study, remember? I agreed to help you in Algebra."

"When I agreed I didn't think it would be so _boring_." She rolled her eyes, although the corners of her mouth were turned upwards so he knew she was not angry. From his pocket, his phone chirped, so he dug it out to look at the text message. Before he could get a chance to read it, Aries plucked the phone from his hands. "Hey!" He reached out for it but she pocketed it.

"Sorry, but you'll get it back when you can explain this back to me." She gave him an expectant look, pushing the book towards him.

He pouted like a child who'd had his favourite toy taken away; it did not work, Aries continued glaring at him, the intensity of it making him duck his head and look at the book before him. After three seconds he was ready to shred the damn thing because it was so confusing. "Why do I need to know Algebra, anyway?"

"Look at it this way – x is the amount of times you've slacked off, and _y_ is the amount of time we've spent here doing nothing. Times them together and you get _xy_, which is the amount of times I will hit you if you don't do the work."

"Oh, feisty." He chuckled, although most of it was forced as he realized how much she'd grown up in the time they'd been apart, becoming more sarcastic and witty.

The rest of the tutoring session was spent with Aries actually tutoring him and him listening intently. He'd only been messing around to lighten the mood because he could feel the awkward tension between them. Obviously, he knew pouting and batting his eyelashes would not make Aries succumb to his pleas of getting out of the stuffy library to do something fun. She was nothing like his fangirls.

He knew with a strong certainty that Aries would not give up on helping him. It was rare that she was stubborn, but when she put her mind to something she would work hard to fulfil it. That was something that had not changed.

Side by side, they walked out of the school together, a prominent gap between them because her barrier still blocked him, although it was already wearing thin after his jokes and droll humour had bounced off it and deteriorated the first layer. There was no skip in her step or hum in her voice.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said once they'd reached the gates. The sky was paper-white, an empty canvas waiting to be painted with her smiles.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked, dangling his car keys.

"I'm fine." Was he imagining things, or had she winced at the word 'home'? "Make sure you read over the notes we made today," she added in a no-nonsense voice.

"Will do, teacher." He glanced around the empty street, furrowing his brows. "You're going to walk back?" At the shake of her head, he asked, "Oh, so your Mom is going to pick you up?"

"Uhm." She blinked. "Yes. So, bye Le—Loke."

"You know, you can call me Leo," he blurted out. "I mean, if you want. It is part of my name after all, so it's okay."

"Okay." She nodded. "Goodbye, Leo."

"Bye." He turned on his heel to head towards his car, but his feet abruptly stopped with a mind of their own. He was going to leave it _here_? After years, he'd been reunited with his best friend, and he was about to end the day with a less-than adequate goodbye?

"Aries," he called out, spiralling around to face her from a few feet away. She'd been rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited for her mother, but stopped and to look at him, tilting her head. "Uh—" He contemplated chickening out, but decided against it when he reminded himself that this was non-judging Aries. With a sigh, he exhaled all his anxieties, and bluntly said, "I missed you."

Her eyes widened a fraction, surprised. In a split second he saw a mixture of emotions paint her face – sorrow, happiness, relief – and then her face settled into a beam.

"I missed you too."


	2. second shield

**author's note:** did not except this much attention so quickly for such a rare pairing. Thank you! I decided to update earlier than I thought I would for you guys.  
><strong>disclaimer:<strong> I don't own Fairy Tail.

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><p><strong>2 <strong>/** 3  
><strong>_second sheild_

_._

_._

It did not take long for her to settle into his group of friends.

With Lucy it was easy, because everyone connected with the bubbly blonde. Mirajane welcomed the pink-haired girl with open arms and Lisanna and Levy were next. With Juvia... well, Juvia was Juvia, who was paranoid and jealous but all the while nice and kind.

Cana quickly took a liking to Aries upon realizing how innocent she was, leaving the brunette with the aim to defile the innocence out of her. If Cana was making Aries uncomfortable with all her suggestions for promiscuous activities and winks and nudges, Aries did not voice any of it.

As for Loke – well, he was close to breaking through the second skin of the shields.

It was a freezing winter day, a week or so after Aries had started school, and they had just finished another tutoring session when Aries got a phone call. She was pursing her lips the whole way through, and nodding as if the caller could see her. "Okay," she mumbled into the phone. "Bye."

"What's up?" he asked her when she pocketed her phone.

"Nothing," she replied, shaking her head. "It's just— something's wrong with the car so they can't pick me up." He furrowed his brows. "It's fine," she hastily added upon seeing his look. "I can just walk home."

"In this weather?" He scoffed. "C'mon, I'll drive you home."

"Leo, you don't—"

He rolled his eyes. She was always one to deny anything offered to her out of politeness. "Nope. C'mon." He reached for her gloved hand peaking out of her winter coat sleeves, but then stopped and instead took hold of her wrist. Aries did not say a thing as they walked to his car, being careful not to slip on the thin layer of snow quickly turning to ice. She nearly stumbled once, and he swiftly caught her before the fall. "You shouldn't have worn those boots," he told her, eyeing her knee-high pink woollen boots. "They're not safe."

"But they're cute," was her only reply.

He rolled his eyes again. "Girls and fashion."

"You're one to talk." She tugged his coat hood well over his head.

When inside the car, Aries stripped her hat and gloves off. Her hair was a mess, her cheeks flushed and her nose looked as if she'd borrowed it off Rudolph, but she still looked cute as ever. "What?" she asked, catching him staring.

"Uh, directions, dummy?"

She swatted him on his shoulder, and then told him the way to her house. The radio was on, and he smiled when he heard her humming along, her feet tapping to the beat. She was opening up a bit more, and he was glad.

He stopped the car outside a meek looking house. "Hey, I have an idea," he informed her whilst she was unbuckling her seat belt.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do I not like the sound of this?"

He laughed. "It's nothing to worry about – I was just thinking that why don't we have tutoring sessions in my house this weekend?"

She was hesitating, he could see. He was fearful that she would bluntly reject the idea, not wanting to spend any time with him. The thought was preposterous – which girl wouldn't faint at the thought of being inside Loke's house?

Well, Aries.

"And you'll actually study?" She broke the silence. "No mucking about, running off to the kitchen to make cupcakes with actual flowers?"

"That was one time when we were eight!" he protested loudly. She laughed. "Just studying, I promise."

_Just studying?_ Impossible for him. He could barely concentrate for ten minutes, nonetheless over an _hour._

Come the weekend and, as expected, their plan on studying took a little detour when his little brother came rushing up to them as soon as they stepped through the door. "Aries!" Junior screamed in joy. Literally _screamed_. The kid was ten-years-old and had the lungs of an opera-star. Apart from that, Junior was a spitting image of Loke with the bright coloured hair, delicate facial features, mischievous black eyes, and class practically _oozing_ off him.

Except, Junior was not lucky enough to have Loke's luck with the ladies—

Or maybe he had spoke to soon, seeing Aries hug Junior, letting the kid rest his head on her breasts. "Okay, okay, that's enough," Loke quickly jumped in, grabbing Junior from the back of his collar and dragging him away.

"I'm just so happy to see her!" Junior said in his defence, making goo-goo eyes at an amused Aries. "It's been so long!"

"You weren't even _five_ when we moved, how could you remember the last time you saw her?"

"Love holds no barriers!"

He raised an eyebrow. "You've been reading shoujo manga again, haven't you?"

"I don't need to read shoujo manga to know what love is!"

"You're _ten_. How could you know what love is? _I_ didn't even know at your age." Loke _still_ did not fully comprehend what love was, and doubted it really existed.

"You didn't know because you don't understand love for what it really is!"

"You sound like a Mariah Carey song!"

"You sound like an idiot!"

"Learn some synonyms!"

"Learn what love is!"

Loke opened his mouth to reply when laughter suddenly filled the room. The uncontrollable sound was coming from a hysterical Aries who looked like she was about to drop to the floor with hilarity. Her whole face was flushed, and she was trying to cover it with her palms pressed her cheeks and covering her mouth in an attempt to thwart the loud sound escaping it. Her eyes were twinkling like dark topaz. "I'm sorry," she choked out an apology, directing it at Junior. "I—I'm ..."

Loke snorted out a laugh, finding entertainment as he watched Aries try to regain her cool. "What's so funny?" Junior asked in confusion, furrowing his brows and glancing from his brother to Aries.

Of course, this only resulted in Loke falling to the floor because of his brother's obliviousness, which only added gas to the fire that was Aries's laughter. By the end of it, they'd both shed tears of happiness, collapsed on the floor with Junior gone because he'd fled from them, muttering, "Weirdo."

"Glad to see you still find me hilarious, Aries," Loke told her as grabbed two water bottles from the kitchen refrigerator. Both of their throats were sore from laughter.

"I was laughing at you and your brother," she told him, taking the bottle he was handing her. "He's adorable."

"He has a crush on you." Aries smiled. "He has a crush on Lucy too. And Erza and Levy and—"

"I get it," Aries interjected, a hint of a smile on her lips. "Way to make me feel special."

He smirked. "Oh, don't look so upset. You were his first crush, if that counts. He cried for you on moving day." She paused, her smile fading and pursing her lips. "What?" he asked, wondering what he'd done wrong.

"I cried when you moved too, remember?"

_Leaving day was terrible. After days of kicking and screaming and throwing a tantrum every second possible, he'd given up all hope that there was a way out of this mess. He just had to face it – his family were moving and there was nothing he could do about it._

_It was as if the earth was opening up, ready to swallow him whole and drag him into the depths of hell. He felt like he was drowning and there was no way out. Anything, anything at all would be better than moving._

_Aries's sorrow-stricken face drenched in tears when she found out he was moving was forever burned in his mind. Sitting on the porch steps of his soon-to-be old house, he put his head in his hands and stifled the tears threatening to spill. No, he could not let his emotions take over. If he let them take over then he would not be able to survive the next few years in his new town._

_It was not to say that he would not make friends in his new town. At eleven, he was charismatic, sociable, and charming. He had no problems making new friends. He just did not want to leave his old ones._

"_Leo?" _

_He looked up, blinking rapidly so Aries would not see the tears forming in his hard black eyes. Swiftly, she sat down next to him, not looking at him but staring out into the distance. He ran a hand through his hair, messing the spikes up even further, and sighed. _

_They'd said goodbye Friday at school, when their class had thrown a party for him for his departure. However, he did not think it counted, because they had been being watched by their classmates and friends while saying goodbye, so anything he wanted to say ("I'll miss you. You're the bestest friend I could ask for – and I know bestest isn't a word so shut up and let me hug you. I'll never forget you...") could not be said. _

"_I got you a going away gift." Her voice was barely a whisper. Still, he heard it echo in his ears. He made no reply, resting his elbows on his knees and head in his hands, so she continued, "It—It's not much, I'm sorry. I didn't think I should buy you anything when you could buy it yourself, so... yeah..."_

_Dropping his arms, his head snapped to her. "What is it?" he barked. His voice was hard, not revealing the true sadness he felt. He would die of embarrassment if Aries saw him cry. She'd seen his tears before, but that had been when they'd been six or seven, little kids and it hadn't mattered. _

"_Uh." Her mouth was in the shape of an 'O', surprised by his sharp reply. "It's a—It's a bracelet. A friendship bracelet." Reaching into the pocket of her yellow cotton dress, she took out a small rope bracelet._

_He thought she was going to touch his shoulder like she always seemed to do to comfort him, but instead her reached for his hand and tied the bracelet around his wrist. It was the colour of his and her hair, strawberry blond and cotton-candy pink clashing against his tanned skin. Aries's aura was around it, that calming cheerful aura that made him feel warm inside. "I—I know it's stupid—"_

"_It's great," he cut her short, running the fingers of his free hand over the bracelet. A wave of tears was approaching, but he could _not_ start bawling like a baby. If he did, Aries would jump to comfort him, and once again she'd be taking care of him. She wouldn't be there to console him anymore. He had to be strong._

"_I'm glad," she said, although she sounded upset. She stood up and so did he. He did not want to sit on the cold steps any longer. "I guess this is goodbye."_

"_I guess." He shrugged slightly. Clearing his throat, he then took the plunge and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. He screwed his dark eyes shut as to stop any salty tears escaping, although Aries was trembling as she sobbed into his shoulder. _

"_I—I— I'll miss you s—so much!" she cried, burying her head in his shoulder. _

_He gulped. "I'll miss you too."_

"_D—Don't forget me."_

_He gave out a strangled sound that was in the borderline between a laugh and a sob. A small tear cascaded down his cheek. "Never."_

The bracelet was still there, in his bedroom in the bedside table. At times when the sky was dull and life seemed too bland, too blue, to put up with, he'd take the bracelet out and remember that he must be strong for the pink-haired girl.

"This is where the magic happens," Loke said as he introduced her to his vast bedroom.

"Since when have you done magic tricks?" Junior asked him, trailing behind Aries like a little puppy.

Loke and Aries shared a look, with him biting his lip to hold in laughter and her looking embarrassed and somewhat uncomfortable.

"Get out of my room," Loke sternly told his annoying brother. "Don't you have any other people to bother?"

"Nope, just you," he cheekily replied. "Do you want to see my room?" he asked Aries, his smirk turning into an innocent (pssh, yeah right) smile.

"Leave her alone, we have to study."

With wide eyes, Junior glared at Loke. Through his glasses, Loke stared back in confusion until he was hit with realisation faster than a bullet. "No no no!" he hastily denied. Oh, he'd forgotten that whenever he took a lady friend to his room, he'd tell his brother they were "studying" even though Junior could tell they were doing nothing of the sort. "Actual homework." He picked up the algebra workbook lying on the bed for proof.

Junior eyed him warily. Aries's eyes wandered from Loke to Junior in curiosity. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Loke answered. _Nothing's going on between us._

**:: :: ::**

Studying turned into talking which turned into watching movies which turned into Loke and Aries throwing popcorn at each other and laughing like old times.

"You got it in my _hair_!" Aries complained in the car ride to her house. The little white-yellow pieces of popcorn were still stuck in her pink hair, and she gingerly picked each one of them out.

"Be thankful I don't like butter in my popcorn," Loke replied with a chuckle. Aries chucked a piece of popcorn at him. "Hey hey hey, don't you know rule one: you're not supposed to throw stuff at the driver?"

Wryly, she threw another piece. "Leo, you've never followed rules." Well, she did have a point. "So what's rule two?"

"Don't touch the radio. I don't want to listen to any stupid country songs."

"What's wrong with country music?"

"What's _right_?" He paused. "I mean, country music is all about finding your true love and whatever. It's not realistic."

He was met with ear-splitting silence, so he took a peek at the passenger seat to see if she was okay. Aries was gazing out into the distance, a soft look in her eyes full of wonder and sorrow. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but felt like it wasn't his place to get involved. The fun and carefree atmosphere had dissolved into almost palpable tension. Slowly, she turned her head to him. "So," she calmly said, testing out the words on her tongue, "you don't believe in love?"

He swallowed. Honestly, he used to believe in love. He used to believe that the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, the sensation of his heart lifting up in your chest or beating so fast it nearly penetrated your ribcage, that blush on his cheeks, that skip in his step – he thought all of that was being in love.

_Karen Lilica._

_The prettiest girl in the school._

_She was the first face to greet him in his new school. She was beautiful, charismatic, funny... When she smiled, it was like his whole world lit up._

_And when she turned him down, with a snort and roll of her eyes, it was like his whole world had been crushed in the palm of her hand._

But, as it turned out, it wasn't love. It was just the journey to heartbreak.

**:: :: ::**

The shrieks of cats being strangled filled his house—

Otherwise known as the ear-shattering noise of his brother singing Christmas carols.

"_Hey_!" Loke shouted to be heard over the horrific sound. He grabbed a candy cane and stuffed it into his brother's mouth. "Shut up!"

Junior shot him a dirty look, no doubt thinking numerous swears he could not say on account of Aries standing nearby and him having to keep up his image as a sweet little boy.

"Leave him be, the singing was nice," Aries said.

Junior's scowl turned into smugness. "You're taking his side?" Loke said in outrage. "_I_could sing better than him when I was ten!"

"I remember how you sang back then in choir - and no, you couldn't."

"Oh, thanks for sticking up for your best friend." Loke nearly pouted as he passed her the tinsel.

Once again, they were back at his house, not studying. It was the season to be jolly because Christmas was approaching, and the three of them were decorating the Christmas tree in Loke's bedroom.

(Yeah, he had a tree in his bedroom. There was one in every room in the mansion - par the bathrooms, because _ew_ - but this one was the only one he was allowed to decorate.)

Tiny flecks of snow were falling outside, decorating his tall windows, and there was faint music reverberating from the stereo. Aries giggled, the sweet tinkling sound of bells, and helped Loke pick Junior up to place the shining star atop of the tree.

She'd been over to his house many a time, sometimes to study, sometimes to hang out, and slowly the recognition had trickled in. Recognition of the fact that, before Aries, he'd never been alone with any of his female friends in his house. Cana was always lugged with Gray, Lucy never stepped foot in his house unless the whole group of them were joining her.

He and Aries always spent time together, one on one, almost like a da—

_No_. He would not finish that thought. She was his closest friend, one of the only he felt comfortable with. Being with her was as easy as breathing, so he wasn't going to ruin that by thinking or saying something wrong.

"_Arieeeeeees_!" Junior cried out, jumping onto Loke's bed. He was grasping something in his hand and pushed his arm out, letting the plant dangle above Aries's head from the tips of his fingers. Wait, that plant looked familiar—

"We're under the mistletoe! That means you have to kiss me!"

Loke could not stop his howl of laughter. Part of it was caused by his idiotic brother who was desperate enough to use mistletoe to get kissed, the other part was because of Aries's bewildered face.

"Uh." She opened and closed her mouth, mimicking a fish. "Close your eyes."

His amusement immediately ceased. "You're not serious, are you?" he asked in shock.

Gleefully, Junior closed his eyes. Tentatively, Aries took a Hershey's Kisses chocolate out of her pocket and plopped it into Junior's mouth. While his brother looked disappointed, Loke was once again grinning. "Hey, at least I got chocolate," Junior said with his mouth full.

His brother was one thing, but high school boys were another.

The guys had been doused with Christmas fever and were using the mistletoe on every pretty girl who passed their way. One of them had attempted to use it on Erza, who had given the deadliest glare of all time. It would have been more entertaining if she had kicked the guy, but as the school council president she had to keep the violence to a minimum. Well, at least Loke had gotten a chuckle out when some guy had tried to get a kiss from Lisanna, but instead had gotten punched in the kisser by protective brother Elfman.

Loke may love the whole lip-to-lip action, but he hated when guys tried to _force_ the girls to kiss them. They were that desperate? That was wrong on too many levels.

(If girls wanted to use mistletoe on him was another story. And when Juvia had used it on Gray, and had fainted as soon as their lips touched, was hilarious.)

"Show me your hands!" Lucy screamed when he entered the classroom at lunch.

"I have no mistletoe, I swear!" Loke insisted, putting up his hands in innocence.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Like I can believe that! Empty your pockets!" she ordered him.

"How can I do that when you want to see my hands?" Cheekily, he grinned at her. "Unless, you want to search my pockets _for_ me—" He was cut short when Lucy threw a bar of chocolate at him. (_"At least I got chocolate."_ His brother's words echoed in his mind.) Rubbing his sore nose, he glanced around the room. "Where's Aries?" he asked.

"What, you need her to defend you now?" Gray grinned.

"I haven't seen her," Lucy answered.

Frowning, Loke left the room to look for her. Normally, when they did not have lessons together, Aries would come to his classroom once the bell rang and together they would walk to the usual meeting place for lunch. However, she hadn't met him so he'd only assumed that she had gone ahead without him.

He spotted a head of cyan blue hair in the hallway. Any other day, he would turn on his heel and flee because Aquarius was damn scary, but he knew that the girl and Aries got along – at least, Aquarius tolerated her because they were lab-partners – so there was a chance she knew were Aries was.

Gulping, he took the plunge and said, "Hey, Aquarius?"

She whipped around so quickly her hair looked like a tsunami on land. Her glower was blazing as she marched up to him. "_What_?" she growled. "I have better things to do that to talk to _you_."

(Out of all the girls in the school, Aquarius was the only one who would hate him no matter what.)

"Look, I know you have to get back to your boyfriend—"

"Nothing like that!" she barked. "I have to find _Aries_, because I seem to be the only friend she has!"

"What are you talking about? I'm her best friend."

She snorted. "Yes, because all _best friends_ care so little."

"Aquarius," he said through gritted teeth, becoming more irritated by the second. Two months ago, he wouldn't have ever spoken to her in this tone. Hell, two months ago he would have never even _spoken_ to her unless a gun was to his head. But this was about Aries, and he had to know what was going on. "Tell me, _where is Aries?_"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be _looking_ for her, would I?" she snapped. "She got kissed under the mistletoe and then ran off!"

"Wh—_what_?"

"Don't make me say it—"

He ran off before she could finish that sentence.

Someone had kissed Aries. Someone had _kissed her_. Those soft and delicate pink lips words hardly ever escaped from, but when they did they were the kindest, sweetest words that strung together like a harmonious melody—

(_Shut up, shut up, shut up._)

He clenched his fists in anger. She was far too innocent, far too pure and perfect for anyone to have the right to kiss her. If her were to find out who had had the _nerve_, he would punch them so hard—

First thing first, find Aries...

And he did.

In the janitor's closet.

It was normally a hook-up place, so he had not thought of looking there, but had heard a snuffle and a sob as he passed by. Sure enough, there was Aries, sitting in the corner of the closet, between the mop and the broom. With her arms wrapped around her legs and head pressed against her knees, she looked tiny in the even smaller room.

Her face was hidden, but he knew her eyes were watery with salty tears, nose gone blotchy, sugar-sweet mouth curled into a frown as she quietly sniffled. It made his blood boil to think that someone in this school had caused her tears to fall.

He was unaware of how long he'd been standing there, watching her, but then she finally took notice of the figure standing at the door. Her head inched a little, her eyes now noticeable from behind her legs (and red-rimmed like he'd thought they would be). She blinked once, twice, teardrops on her feathery eyelashes, staring up at him.

Moving the broom, he took a seat on the floor next to her. He was unsure what to do – he was horrible at comforting people without making jokes – but then put his arm around Aries and hugged her to him. She stiffened first, then relaxed and put her head on his shoulder, releasing her hold on her legs.

In the silence, he could hear her soft breathing as she struggled to stop sobbing. When she did, there was only shattering silence for a few seconds before she spoke. "It was my first kiss."

His arms flexed around her, holding her tighter than he should, like a shield wrapping around this childlike girl he thought he needed to protect. Not only had someone kissed her against her will, they'd taken her first kiss, the first thing to touch her chaste lips.

"It doesn't count," he nonchalantly replied.

"What?" She pulled her head away from his shoulder she'd been using as a pillow.

"First kisses... they're with someone you like. They're voluntary. If you didn't want it, then it doesn't count."

"But—"

"If it _did_, then that would mean my first kiss was to my great aunt Muriel." That managed to get a small, if hesitant, smile out of Aries. The unspoken '_thank you_' was felt in the palpable air.

He also felt the warm body-heat radiating off Aries, their shoulders side by side with no space acting as a barrier between them. Gazes locked, he inadvertently drew himself closer to her, feeling her warm breathe. His heart seemed to be racing (or was that hers?) as she tipped her head up and he leaned down—

And, like glass cracking, he hastily broke eye-contact and shattered whatever scene that could've taken place.

After a moment, she shuffled away, and then stood up. "Thanks, Leo."

He did not understand what she was thanking him for.

He did not even understand what the hell had just happened.

**:: :: ::**

He was still confused about the odd incident in the janitor's closet, come the Christmas holidays. There had been that slow dramatic drum-roll as he'd inched further towards Aries, her eyes fluttering close and his heart racing madly. He still could not comprehend why he'd feel such a way – or what this feeling was – about his best friend.

Still, that did not stop him from inviting her to his parents' Christmas party.

"_Really?" she asked him in disbelief. "You're inviting me?"_

"_You don't have plans, do you?" he asked, nervousness gnawing at him for no apparent reason._

"_No but— I thought you'd invite someone like Lucy," she explained._

"_I'd be more fun with you." The words had surprised her as much as it had him, because they might've been true but he never considered he would actually voice his thoughts, and her eyes had looked at him with wonder, face beaming like this had been the best thing she'd ever heard before._

_All he wanted was to make her smile like that again, like he'd hung the stars for her and her only._

Before she arrived, the party was vastly dull. He lounged near the front door, away fro the other guests. Dressed in long beautiful gowns made of silk or tulle, all the girls roaming the hall, their skirts swishing from side to side as they swayed to the classical music with no real rhythm of their own.

Last year, he was in that room, charming them with sweet words and his natural good looks. Last year, he was mingling with all the ladies. Last year, he was ignoring the obvious fact that none of them would care for him if he wasn't this wealthy. But Aries, bubble-gum pink Aries, would still be by his side even if he was dirt poor.

Wealth did not matter. Nothing else mattered when he was with her.

(But that was beginning to scare him.)

His breath caught in his throat when she stepped through the front door. He did not know what he had been expecting. Clearly he knew that Aries would not appear in a floor-length dress or a short skin-tight one, because that was nothing like her. Her hair was curled and pinned up high, showing off the delicate features of her creamy complexioned face – the high cheekbones, the rosy cheeks, wide and angelic eyes, and the way her mouth slid into a warm beam when she saw him.

"Hello," she greeted him.

"H—hi." He hesitantly smiled at her. "You look great."

She fiddled with the hem of her knee-length A-line dress. It was a mint-green color in an attempt to be festive, because eye-popping colors were not what she usually wore. "Thank you. The place looks great."

"It should, my Mom hired five interior designers for the party." He rolled his eyes. "Do you want to go somewhere to sit down? I don't want to go back into the hall."

Shyly, she nodded, and they made their way to the off-limits living room and sat on the comfy leather seats. She slipped her fluffy white shrug off, revealing her bare shoulders in her strapless dress. He stared at her collar bones, her small waist, her tanned legs, a second too long before rushing off, stating he needed a drink.

He returned with two glasses of champagne in hand. She looked at the glass of bubbly liquid, startled. "Uh..."

"You don't have to —"

"No, I'll try it." She gave him a small smile, and took the glass from him, holding it tentatively in her hand. Cautiously, she took a tiny sip, while he gulped about half of it down, the bubbles tickling him as they slid down his throat.

The uneasiness washed off with the tide, and the two of them talked through most of the night, with Loke forcing his gaze not to linger or his thoughts to wander off.

Other than that, it was perfect. He did not feel like he had to impress her or put on a show for her – there was no pressure with Aries, just simple conversations and jokes, carefree and mellow.

It was beginning to freak him out. His humming heart felt like it wanted nothing more than to spend every second with her, listening to her laugh and seeing her smile brighten every room.

(He really should not be feeling this way.

And he definitely should not feel upset that she now had to leave because it was getting late.)

Like a gentleman, he walked her out to the gates of his house, behind which her ride was parked. The thick black sky hole-punched with a few luminescent stars cascaded its light onto Aries, lightening her skin as if she were an angel.

"I had fun tonight," she joyfully said.

"Me too." He shoved his hands in his pockets so he could resist the urge to sling his arm over her shoulder or around her waist. "Hey, I forgot to give you your Christmas present!" he realised when he felt the small jewellery box in his pocket poking his hand.

They stopped in their tracks for Loke to pull the box out and pass it to Aries. Their fingers brushed against each other, an electric spark between them that only he seemed to notice.

Tentatively, she opened the box, squinting in the moonlight, and a small gasp escaped her lips when she saw the necklace that lay inside. "Thank you!" she ecstatically told Loke. "I love it, Leo!" He grinned back at her, a fluttering feeling in his stomach. "Would you put it on me?"

"Sure." She handed him the delicate necklace, turning around so her back was towards him. Carefully, he put the necklace around her bare neck, careful his fingers not brush against her skin and give him another terrifyingly exhilarating electric shock. He closed the latch and she turned around, the small heart pendant shimmering in the moonlight.

She traced the chain, eyes gleaming. "Thank you," she said again.

"It's no problem. It looks great on you."

"I got you a present too." She pulled a little ring out of her purse. It caught the light if the moon, the orange stone shining brightly. She reached for his hand, and his breath caught as he had the stupid idea that she was going to hold his hand, but instead she pressed the ring into his palm. Her petite fingers lingered there in his hand for a second, before she pulled back and said, "I know it's not much but -"

"It's great," he said without having to so much look at his gift. Aries would never fail to impress - she was perfect that way. "You really didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to. You deserve it."

She looked at him with sweet eyes, like he was the kindest being alive, and he knew he deserved none of it. That did not stop his heart from picking up the pace, his hands from turning clammy, and his butterflies to stop fluttering.

Gazes locked, she reached on her tiptoes, leaning closer towards him. He froze in shock, unsure what to do. Warm breath escaped her lips as she tipped her head up and kissed-

His cheek.

It was a small brief peck, not long enough for him to bathe in her touch, and then she pulled him into a short hug.

"Merry Christmas, Leo," she whispered into his ear, her breath tickling him, and then pulled away.

There was an embarrassed blush on her cheeks as she walked away, looking over her shoulder just once to sheepishly grin at him.

And then she was gone.

The butterflies were still fluttering, his heart still racing, as the car drove off. Then, once the car was out of sight, his heart plummeted down into a crevice when reality hit him like a bullet.

_H— He, he lov—_

Well, there went his golden rule.


	3. core

**author's note:** I'm sorry, I'm a terrible updater; what's worse is that 7/8 of this chapter had already been written months ago, but I didn't have the heart to finish it because it's not up to par. Seriously, it's really corny - blame shoujo mangas.  
><strong>disclaimer:<strong> I don't own Fairy Tail.

* * *

><p><strong>3 <strong>/** 3  
><strong>_core_

_._

_._

New Years came and went, the clock striking but with no one to kiss. Not the person he really wanted, anyway.

Under the dazzling fireworks, she kissed his cheek again, grinning at the prospect of spending a whole year together, before being distracted by sparklers more attention-worthy than him.

It was horrifying, really, what he'd come to realize at the end of the Christmas party. Adorable little Aries, whom he had always thought of as a sister until now, held a bigger place in his heart than he thought. Not that she could ever know.

Sighing, he pushed the thoughts away and left for school. Paper white and empty, the sky was a blank canvas ready to be painted. It was a new day, a new year, and he was going to make it the best. First thing first, forgetting all the muddled thoughts running through his mind.

Not at all easy, considering how his heart sped up when he saw her walk into school and smile when she spotted him. Little things made his heart jump – like the dimples that appeared on her cheeks when she grinned widely at one of his jokes, her light laughter, and the softness of her voice, never brash or angry.

That was why he found himself in the library of all places, hiding out from her. It went on like this for a few days, because he was afraid that if he spent one more second with her, he might lean in and—

"What are you doing here?" Loke jumped when he heard Gray's voice from behind him. He swiveled around to face his black-haired friend, quickly glancing around to make sure no one else was congregating around the tall bookshelves.

"Oh, you know, checking out the bookworms. They're really cute, aren't they?" Loke nonchalantly said, running a hand through his messy hair.

Gray raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Because I thought another girl was on your mind."

Loke blanched. Shit, of course his best friend would find out he liked his other best friend— "It's not like that!" he insisted. "Aries and I are just—"

"Oh, I didn't say it was Aries, did I?"

If it was possible, he became even paler. "Uh..." Gray had an amused look on his face, and Loke knew there was no point trying to contradict him. "You're not going to tell her, are you?"

Gray rolled his eyes. "What kind of friend do you take me for?"

"Is that a yes or a no?"

Gray swatted his arm. "I'm not going to tell her, because you're going to do it."

Loke leapt away from Gray as if he were on fire. "What?" he nearly exclaimed. Hastily, he looked around again, fearful he'd been heard. He peeked around the book shelf to see the student librarian, Levy, look up from her desk with a slight frown on her face, before shrugging and settling back down to her book. With a sigh of relief, Loke looked back at Gray. "Talk louder, why don't you!" Loke hissed, smacking Gray.

"I'm not the one who's yelling!" Gray fiercely whispered back, rubbing his arm. "You're not going to tell her, are you?"

"Gray..." Loke exhaled through his nose. "You don't get it. It's _Aries_," he said, as if that was the only explanation needed. What else could he say? That he didn't deserve someone like Aries? That she was too special, too cute, too perfect—

"Do you want my advice?" Gray asked. Loke nearly snorted. Did he want the advice of a man who had no idea that Juvia was head over heels in love with him? For some reason, he found himself nodding. Receiving some advice, no matter how rubbish it was, would help. "Suck it up and tell her, or brush it off and move on."

"But—"

"You're depressing the rest of us out." He paused. "She's really worried, you know?"

"She is?" Loke asked, eyes widening. He and Aries had not spoken for a few days, because he'd been blowing her off. Even the tutoring sessions, which he desperately needed, he had cancelled with a simple text. The guilt when he'd sent the text had been immense, and now came rushing back.

"Yeah, so choose fast before you end up hurting her."

Loke gulped. Despite being blissfully ignorant to his own love life, Gray sure gave good advice to others.

**:: :: ::**

There it was, option two. _"... or brush it off and move on_." That was what he was doing, Friday night in one of my most popular restaurants in town, sitting opposite one of the prettiest girls in school.

Aries had been forgiving when he'd apologized for ditching her in the tutoring sessions, and hadn't pressured him on his reasons why, knowing he wouldn't have truthfully answered anyway. She'd smiled in understanding, telling him to pace himself, and then had left with him fully realizing that she was the sweetest girl he'd ever met and he was too much of a jerk to her. She still popped up in his thoughts, even though he was on a date with Laura—

Or was it Lisa? Or Lindy? (Wait, was Lindy even a name...?)

"Loke?" her sugar-sweet voice rang. Startled, he looked back at _Laura-Lisa-Lindy_ who was staring at him in concern. "Are you okay?"

He plastered on his usual confident grin and said, "I'm fine."

She melted at his beautiful smile, never bothering to look at what lurked behind it, and brushed it off like it was nothing. If Aries had been with him, she wouldn't have smiled and acted as if nothing was wrong. If Aries had been here, she would've scooted beside him, put her hand on his shoulder like she always did and asked him what was wrong. If Aries had been here …

_Whoa_. Aries _was_ here.

A few tables away, she was sat there with Aquarius and Scorpio, opposite another guy with really orange skin who looked liked he'd overdone the self-tan. It looked like... well, he did not want to admit it, but it looked like a _double date._

In one second, his beating heart plummeted into the deep depths of his stomach. He was no longer hungry, but desperately needed water to wash away the lump forming in his throat. Coughing like he was about to spit up a hairball (boy, that sure was attractive) he reached for the glass of water and drank it all down as if he hadn't had a drink for days on end in the Sahara desert.

The concerned look was back on _Laura-Lisa-Lindy_'s face as she handed him a napkin. "Are you all right, Loke? Do you want me to get you some more water? Or first-aid? Oh, I know how to do CPR—"

"I'm fine!" Loke quickly insisted, before the girl could make a scene and attract Aries's attention. Oh God, he did _not _want her to see him. She knew he was on a date tonight, but he hadn't known she was on a date too, nor did he want to. But.. why hadn't she told him? Didn't she trust him? He brushed the thought off. He would rather pretend that she was still innocent Aries who did not like or date any guys, rather than have to talk about her _lovely_ date the next day.

Idly, he wondered if, since she hadn't told him about her date, chances were that she had not told anyone else either –meaning that it could be just a one-off, something that she'd never talk about because it did not _mean_ anything—

But what if it didn't? What if she fell in love?

He winced at the thought. No, that was too ridiculous. "Loke...?" _Laura-Lisa-Lindy_ asked.

Loke pushed his glasses up to rub his eyes with the tips of his fingers. "I'm fine," he repeated He blinked, placed his glasses back in place and looked up just in time to see Aries disappearing out of the restaurant with her friends.

Abruptly, she glanced back, her doe brown eyes instantly meeting with his like a magnetic attraction. Then, in a few seconds, she was gone – gone like the brightness of the room, gone like the air in his lungs, gone like the hope he'd had that he could sweep these feelings under a rug and go back to just being friends.

How could they, when all he could think about was how pretty she looked in her knee-length peach-colored dress, made of tulle with a billowed out skirt that swished when she moves—

Her skirt fluttered when she did perfect figure 8s on the ice the next day, all of them gathered at the ice-rink to skate. Gray and Lyon were arguing, Natsu was slipping, Cana, Lucy, Mirajane and the other girls were all giggling and skating, but it was Aries (as always) who drew his attention.

Her face lit up with laughter as she spun and skated, graceful as a swan, looking carefree and joyful.

"Hello," she said, approaching him from where he leant against the railing of the rink. "H– How was your date?"

"It was fine," he replied with a shrug. He held her gaze for a moment, before blurting out, "How was yours?"

A blush fled to her cheeks. She twiddled her glove-clad fingers, looking down at the cool ice rather than at him. Loke felt his heart dropping once more because she could not even look him in the eye. Then, she uttered four words that enlightened his world. "It wasn't a date."

"It— It wasn't?" he choked out, the breath in him being restored.

She meekly shook her head. "Not really. Aquarius was just trying to be nice and set me up, but we're just friends."

(He was pretty sure Aquarius wasn't doing it to be nice, but he didn't think that was that important to mention.)

"Are you okay?" she asked him, tilting her head.

"What?" he asked. "Of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" She looked away and he followed her gaze to Natsu. Natsu was no longer slipping all over the place (he wondered why Natsu had even come to the ice-rink if he couldn't skate) and was now holding onto Lucy's hand as she kept him balanced. He was grinning, as per usual, and Lucy was laughing as they twirled around the ice-rink in a mix of yellow and pink.

No longer did Loke feel that hint of bitter jealousy as he watched the couple-but-not-really-a-couple, or did Lucy's hair and smile dazzle him like before. Those feelings for her were gone, so quickly he hadn't even realized, evaporated into the thin air.

"I'm fine," Loke honestly told Aries. He cleared his throat and then repeated, "I'm fine." Damn, he had said that too many times – but now he really meant it. He was not at all affected by the scene in front of him, because he had a new object of affection, and it seemed that she would not be disappearing from his mind any time soon.

(It was no use, was it? Trying to get over her. It would never work.)

"Didn't work?" Gray asked, plopping into the seat next to Loke as he untied his skates. Loke did not reply, pulling his skates off and normal shoes back on. He gritted his teeth, pulling at the laces in anger. Why the hell did Gray have to be so damn perspective about Loke's life? "You know what you have to do now, right?"

"What?" Loke grumbled.

"Option two."

Loke froze. _Suck it up and tell her ..._ No, he couldn't. He looked up to where Aries stood talking to the other girls. "I can't."

Gray snorted. "The fearless Loke is _scared_?" Loke turned to glower at him, but that did not wipe the smirk off Gray's face. "What's the worst that could happen?"

_She could reject me, _Loke thought. Gray raised an eyebrow, daring him to speak his thoughts. If Loke told Aries, she could reject him, only wanting to be friends. But, if he did not tell her, then they would continue being friends. Same outcome—

With a small fragment of a chance that she might _not_ reject him. Butterflies fluttered around his stomach at the concept, but he couldn't get his hopes up only for them to come crashing down.

"What d'you say, cowardly lion? Are you going to confess or not?" The smile slipped from Gray's face as he gave Loke a serious and inquiring look. His ice-cold eyes drilled into Loke's brain.

"Okay, I will," Loke said, mostly to get Gray to stop staring at him and making his skin freeze over. He did not stop staring. "What, tell her _now?_" Loke asked in shock.

"Why not now?" Gray replied with a shrug. "What difference does it make, if it's now or tomorrow, or next week... Don't tell me you're going to chicken out."

"But— Aries— she's different."

"I know. Why else would you like her?" Gray stood up and patted Loke on his head, ruffling his hair. "Good luck," he said as he walked away.

Loke muttered a cruse under his breath. Gray went to continue his argument with Lyon, Natsu joining in to add gas to the fire, leaving Loke sitting along with his thoughts.

His legs were trembling, almost like jelly because he was too scared to stand up. It was like his backbone had disappeared because he was that _frightened_ to approach Aries. Oh, ignorance really would be bliss right now. His heart was racing, his palms were clammy, his mind running whirlwind— and now Aries was walking towards him and he really needed to_ calm down. _This never happened to him; he was never nervous around a girl, so why was this girl so different?

She wasn't just any girl though, she was his best friend.

"Are you cold?" Aries gently asked, taking a seat next to him. "You look flushed."

He gulped. "No, not cold at all."

Aries did not seem to believe him. "We're all going to lunch so at least you can warm up there."

"All of us?" he asked, glancing around. She nodded. "Can we ..." He cleared his throat, flexing his hands out of nervousness. "Can we go somewhere first? Like, take a walk?"

She blinked at him, eyes wide with curiosity. "J— Just the two of us?" she softly asked. He slowly nodded. "Oh— Okay." She smiled at him, and smiling back at her was the easiest thing in the world.

Outside, the temperature seemed to have dropped and Aries hugged her arms around her chest for extra warmth. There was a voice in his mind urging him to take his coat off and give to Aries, even if it meant that he'd freeze. She dropped her arms to her sides and, gulping, Loke took hold of her hand. He heard her sharp inhale of breath when he held her hand in his, tensing up for a second before relaxing in his hold. He gently squeezed her hand and caught a glimpse of a shy smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Aries?" he nervously said after gulping his fear down. She turned her head to look at him with soft inquiring eyes.

"Yes?" she asked, squeezing his hand back.

He took a deep breath and stopped, turning to fully face her. This was it, wasn't it? He memorized her pretty smile, twinkling eyes, fluffy-pink hair and creamy skin, on the off chance that as soon as he opened his mouth she would reject him and leave. That wouldn't happen; Aries was too nice to do such a thing. She would just kindly turn him down, afraid to hurt his feelings and— shit, he really needed to stop over-thinking everything because Aries was still staring at him.

"I need to ask you something," he started, and she nodded. "I know we've been friends for a long time – in fact, you're my best friend," he added, taking a moment to admire the beam that graced her face when he said that, "and we know each other really well, but the truth is —"

He broke off when he heard her sharp intake of breath. What had happened? Had she realized his true nature of talking to her alone? "Aries? What's wrong?" Loke followed her gaze over his shoulder. "What is it?" he inquired, looking back at Aries.

Gulping, she shakily nodded. "I— I'm sorry, Leo. I have to go." She let go of his hand.

"What?" he spoke out in shock. She was already backpedalling, and he hastily reached out and grabbed her wrist again. "Aries —"

"Can we please just turn around?" she whispered in a scared tone, one that pushed him into action. He nodded, taking hold of her hand properly and they turned back in the direction they had come. She gripped his hand tightly, constantly looking back in a way that worried him. He wondered what she was so scared of, what had made her want to run like a mouse away from a creeping cat.

They stopped just outside the diner where the rest of their friends were having lunch. He could see them all, through the window, laughing and chatting. Aries was shuffling her feet, her grip now loose and she looked desperately at the door, wishing to go inside. "What happened?" he softly asked her, taking a step forward.

"I …" She gulped, looking again. Snow was falling again, light little snowflakes brushing against his cheeks and falling into her pink hair. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Aries—" She shook her head, pink curls bouncing. "Please?" With no reply, he sighed. "Fine, let's go inside."

At his tone – not unkind, but without its usual softness when he spoke to her – her eyes widened and she stopped him from walking to the door. "It's just that— You'll make fun of me," she told him.

He looked at her incredulously. "Aries, since when have I ever made fun of you?" he asked, somewhat betrayed she would even think that. "I told you before, you're my best friend. I would never do that."

She looked conflicted. "I know; you always protected me when we were kid … and after you moved –" She cut herself off. "I saw a girl I used to go to school with."

He frowned, his eyebrows furrowed. "What's so bad about that?"

So she told him what was so dreadful about seeing the girl named Angel just minutes before. Apparently she hadn't been angelic at all – in fact, she'd been the school bully and had harassed Aries consistently. It had gotten to the point that Aries's parents had decided to move house and send Aries to a better school so she could live life without being tormented.

The snow was already letting up by the time Aries had finished, although Loke knew she was only briefly explaining the situation to him. The fear in her eyes showed that Angel really had affected her with her bullying. She had let go of his hand, taking both of hers and fiddling with her fingers, troubled with nerves.

"I— I'm scared." Her voice broke. "Why is she here? If she finds out where I live ..." she trailed off, tears piercing her eyes.

Soothingly, he placed his hands over hers, clutching them tightly. Her skin was icy cold to the touch. "You trust me, right?" She nodded. "Then don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."

She brought her arms up to wrap around his torso and hug, mumbling a small, "Thank you."

He wanted to hold her even tighter, wipe her tears away and brush his lips against hers to show her how much he truly cared about her. However, he couldn't; not when she was this upset. Not when all she needed was a friend, and he was struggling to be that, because not once had he ever asked about her old school or friends.

**:: :: ::**

Gray was telling him that he was only making excuses for himself. "Blah blah, so you didn't ask her, so what?" Gray asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Say it louder, please," Loke hissed.

"Right, because who's going to hear?" The classroom was empty, scarce for the two of them and Natsu, who was snoozing on the other desk. The three of them were in detention, their teacher having popped out for a few minutes and Gray had taken advantage of the time by making fun of Loke.

Natsu mumbled something in his sleep. "The hothead's going to sleep like a log, don't worry about it," Gray told him.

"I'm not kidding, shut up."

"You just don't want to talk about the fact you chickened out."

"I didn't—"

"Loke the cowardly lion has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

"It's not the right time."

"It's the perfect time for a new nickname." Loke glowered at Gray. "I know what you mean. That's still not at excuse. If it means you'll no longer mope around like you're a kicked puppy, then now is a better time than any."

He contemplated Gray's words throughout the detention, not even Natsu's loud snores knocking him out of his focus. Today, tomorrow, next month... It would all be the same. Aries would always be there for him, so why not confess now?

Determinedly, he walked over to where she was waiting by her locker for him. Catching sight of him, she smiled at him.

"Do you have any plans today?" he abruptly asked her.

She blinked at him. "Uh, no. Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to take you out on a date."

"A— a date?" she asked, eyes wide with surprise, mouth hanging open half-agape. "Really?" He nodded at her. "Oh— um, okay."

"Okay?" he repeated, eyes lighting up.

"Okay," she repeated, laughing a little.

"That's great," he chuckled nervously. "So, the cafe?"

"Sounds great," she meekly said. He took her books to be a gentleman, and began leading her down the hallway, biting his lip to hide his smile. This all seemed so easy, and way too good to be tru—

"Hey guys, where you headed?" he heard Natsu call out. Loke inwardly cringed, knowing that, with his bad luck, this was not going to end well.

Loke and Aries turned around to face their friends. "Oh, just to the cafe—"

"We were just heading there right now!" Lucy said brightly. "Mind if we tag along?"

"Sure, the more the merrier," Aries replies with a smile, before Loke could stop her. She beamed up at him, "Right, Leo?"

There was a sparkle in her eyes that reminded him of when they had first become friends, and she had been so lonely before. Aries hadn't had many friends before, and here were so many of them wanting to hang out with her. He sighed, deciding that he could put off the confession for _another _day (if he didn't chicken out again, although he doubted Gray would let him live it down).

"Sure," he said, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Let's go."

He had the worst luck. Or maybe it was karma.

**:: :: ::**

He couldn't help the grin off his face as he rushed to find Aries. In his hand he clutched the results of his latest Algebra test, which just so happened to have a giant _A_ written in bright red marker. _"Well then, maggot,"_ Mr Brain had said with a curl of his lip, "_it looks like you're staying in this class."_

It was lunchtime now, and he could always meet up with Gray and his other friends to flaunt his excellent grade, and wait for Aries to arrive, but he'd rather talk to her first. After all, she was his best friend, and the reason he had passed the test in the first place.

Things had resumed as normal after their 'date but not really a date because she didn't classify it as one'. At first Loke had considered telling her the next day, but then he had thought that maybe the universe was trying to tell him something. If he had failed at telling her the first two attempts, then maybe it was better he waited before he tried again. After all, third time's the charm, right?

Behind all his joy, in the back of his mind he knew that since he no longer needed a tutor, he would be seeing less of Aries. That was the last thing he wanted. Maybe now was the time to tell her truth.

"Aries!" he said with a grin, entering the English classroom that was empty except for her.

"Hello," she greeted him, glancing away from the chalkboard for only a swift second to smile at him, and then continuing with her task of cleaning the chalkboard. "You didn't have to wait for me, you should go sit with everyone else. I'll be there in a second."

"Have you forgotten what day it is?" he asked her, leaning against the teacher's desk. Wait, did Ms Jensen honestly own a _World's Greatest Teacher _mug?

Aries froze. "It's not your birthday..." she said in a small voice that nearly had him dissolve into laughter. She gasped and swivelled around with wide inquiring eyes. "The exam results! What did you ..." She looked sheepish and frightened for an answer.

He handed her the paper and her face gleamed with pride. "See, I'm handsome _and_ smart," he smugly proclaimed.

She laughed, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I never had any doubt about that, Leo." She paused, taking a step closer to him. In a softer, more sincere voice, she told him, "I'm so proud of you."

He gulped, smile faltering a little at her sincerity in her doe brown eyes. She gave him a hug, one that was meant to be quick except he kept his arms around her waist. He was still thinking about her child-like eyes that had looked at him like he was the most important person in the world.

When they had first met, she had stared at him with hesitance as he approached her. _She looked at him shiftily, as if waiting for him to suddenly spring a horrible and cruel prank on the poor girl._

Now all hesitance was gone, and she wasn't afraid of him getting close. She did not attempt to struggle out of the hug or push him away when he kept his arms around her. She herself kept her arms around his neck, chin perched on his shoulder and melting into the hug.

It was too much: the smell of her hair, her soft skin, the way they just seemed to fit together... He needed to get away before he did something he regretted.

He began to pull away, his face brushing against her cheek and making him tingle. She sharply inhaled at the touch, her eyes shooting up to meet his. There was a warm inviting look in her eyes that made him lean in closer, close enough to feel her warm breath against his lips.

Tentatively, his lips brushed against hers – soft at first, but enough for a spark of electricity to pass through them. It was then that he deepened the kiss, lips gliding over hers. The taste of her strawberry chapstick made his brain go haywire, his hands at her waist and bringing her closer towards him so there was no space between them.

_What are you doing?_ His mind seemed to shriek at him, causing him to abruptly and begrudgingly pull away, breath ragged and eyes blinking open with surprise. Aries did not meet his eyes, instead staring at the floor with her mouth half-open in confusion. Absently, her hand went to her mouth, fingertips on her lips where his lips had been brushing against only a few seconds ago.

"I— I uh..." he trailed off, his voice ragged. What should he do? Apologise for the kiss that had made his heart race? He didn't want to – he didn't regret it. "I'm not going to apologise," he told her. Her eyes darted to him. "I don't regret the kiss." With adrenaline and confidence pumping through his lungs, he assertively continued, "Aries I— I've wanted to do that for so long, you have no idea. All I want to do now is kiss you again but —"

"Then kiss me again," she squeaked out. His eyes widened, heart ready to jump out of his chest.

"What?" He blinked, brain befuddled as Aries took a step closer. She wasn't honestly giving him permission to kiss her again, was she?

"If you want to kiss me again," she took a step forward, nervously wringing her hands but with determination in her voice, "then I... I don't mind."

She was only an inch away from him now, and he could see her chest heaving and her cheeks were flushed. He licked his lips. "You don't?"

"No I ... I don't." She was tiptoeing now. She attentively placed her hand on his shoulder, and his hand automatically went to her waist. "I've always wanted to kiss you too."

"Really?" He couldn't hide the smile on his face. "Are you..." He sharply inhaled. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

They were _so close_. She nodded, their noses nuzzling against each other. Her other hand went to the biceps of his arm, squeezing softly. Where had this new-found confidence of hers come from? His was nearly fading, too quickly so he just had to blurt out, "I really like you," just in case it wasn't already obvious from the kiss they had just shared.

She quietly giggled, a melodious sound that had him smiling with bliss. "I know."

Finally, her eyes fluttered close and she pressed her lips on his, with no hesitance at all, as if telling him _I like you too._

Third time's the charm.


End file.
